Compact dispensing package

ABSTRACT

A compact dispensing package for sheet materials such as facial tissues. The package comprises a top-dispensing carton, an inverted Y-shape support member within the carton, and a bundle of substantially uniform sheets. The bundle is folded upon itself into a U-shape and draped over the inverted Y-shape support member. The length of the bundle is substantially equal to the distance up and over the inverted Y-shape support member, the middle of the bundle is supported subjacent the top wall of the carton, and the top sheet is folded to provide a grapsing portion immediately subjacent a dispensing opening or aperture through the top wall of the carton. By configuring the carton, the support member, the sheets, and the bundle so that the portions of the lower interior corners of the carton disposed above the distal ends of the arms of the Y-shape support member are filled by outwardly flared distal portions of the U-shape bundle and so that the bundle substantially fills the bundle accommodating space above the Y-shape support member without substantially compressing or restraining the bundle, the bundle is substantially precluded from shifting during shipping and other handling. Further, by virtue of having the middle of the bundle supported subjacent the top wall of the carton, even the lowermost sheet in the bundle is accessible for being grasped, in turn, between one&#39;&#39;s thumb and forefinger even through a narrow dispensing aperture or opening. The compact dispensing package may further include a transparent panel having a dispensing opening in it which panel is secured within the carton immediately subjacent the top wall of the carton. Also, the package may include a transparent overwrap covering at least the outer surface of the top wall of the carton and, the sheets of the bundle may be interleaved to provide pop-up dispensing.

United States Patent [191 Early et al.

[ May6, 1975 COMPACT DISPENSING PACKAGE [75] Inventors: Allen D. Early;Michael D. Danyi; William A. Cox; Thomas J. Slone, all of Cincinnati,Ohio [73] Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company,

Cinicinnati, Ohio [22] Filed: July 11, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 378,303

Primary ExaminerRobert B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-Thomas E. KocovskyAttorney, Agent, or FirmThomas J. Slone; John V. Gorman; Richard C.Witte [57] ABSTRACT A compact dispensing package for sheet materialssuch as facial tissues. The package comprises a topdispensing carton, aninverted Y-shape support member within the carton, and a bundle ofsubstantially uniform sheets. The bundle is folded upon itself into aU-shape and draped over the inverted Y-shape support member. The lengthof the bundle is substantially equal to the distance up and over theinverted Y- shape support member, the middle of the bundle is supportedsubjacent the top wall of the carton, and the top sheet is folded toprovide a grapsing portion immediately subjacent a dispensing opening oraperture through the top wall of the carton. By configuring the carton,the support member, the sheets, and the bundle so that the portions ofthe lower interior corners of the carton disposed above the distal endsof the arms of the Y-shape support member are filled by outwardly flareddistal portions of the U-shape bundle and so that the bundlesubstantially fills the bundle accommodating space above the Y-shapesupport member without substantially compressing or restraining thebundle, the bundle is substantially precluded from shifting duringshipping and other handling. Further, by virtue of having the middle ofthe bundle supported subjacent the top wall of the carton, even thelowermost sheet in the bundle is accessible for being grasped, in turn,between ones thumb and forefinger even through a narrow dispensingaperture or opening. The compact dispensing package may further includea transparent panel having a dispensing opening in it which panel issecured within the carton immediately subjacent the top wall of thecarton. Also, the package may include a transparent overwrap covering atleast the outer surface of the top wall of the carton and, the sheets ofthe bundle may be interleaved to provide pop-up dispensing.

2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PMENTEBMAY 61975 SHEET 2 OF 2 25 l fl 26Fig. 3

Fig. 5

Fig.2

COMPACT DISPENSING PACKAGE FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relatesgenerally to providing a compact dispensing package for sheet materialssuch as virtually limp facial tissues.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Sheet material such as facial tissues arecommonly packaged in parallelopipedal shape cartons having a bundle oftissues disposed substantially fiat therein as illustrated, forinstance, by U.S. Pat. No. 3,239,097, issued to John B. Bates et al. onMarch 8, 1966, or a bundle of tissues may be draped over a support suchas an inverted V-shape support as illustrated, for instance, by U.S.Pat. No. 3,265,241, issued to Arnold J. McColgan, Aug. 9, 1966.

Some effort has been directed towards providing compact dispensingpackages for sheet materials. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,195,622issued to Charles A. Fourness, Apr. 2, 1940, illustrates a tissue packethaving an unsupported, U-folded bundle of tissues disposed therein. U.S.Pat. No. 2,761,584, issued to Oscar W. Johnson et al., Sept. 4, 1956,illustrates another dispenser for sheet material wherein the bundle isfolded into a U-shape and supported by a vertically disposed supportmember within the carton. However, in both U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,761,584 and2,195,622, such U-folded bundles result in void triangular-shape spaceswithin the carton adjacent the distal ends of the U-shape bundle. Suchvoids contribute to bundle instability and shifting during shipping andother handling which instability and shifting adversely affectsdispensing and product appearance.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,700, issued to Howard N. Nelson, Feb. 20, 1968,discloses a sheet material dispensing package comprising a U-foldedunsupported bundle disposed within a restraining wrapper so that thedistal ends of the bundle are flared outwardly in such a manner thatthere are no voids adjacent the distal ends of the U-folded bundle sothat the bundle, before use, is said to be stable within the wrapper;that is, not subject to substantial shifting during shipping or otherhandling. However, initial dispensing from such an unsupported bundle oftissues is difficult due to the bundle of tissues being in a restrainingwrapper. Further, by virtue of not being draped over a bundle support,access to limp sheets disposed in the lower portion of the bundle isdifficult because such sheets tend to slump to the bottom of thepackage.

With respect to folding the top sheet of a bundle to provide a graspingportion with which dispensing can be initiated, the prior art includesthe following U.S. Pats: No. 1,797,380 issued Mar. 24, 1931 to Oscar T.Thompson; No. 1,952,382 issued Mar. 27, 1934 to Charles A. MacGregor;No. 2,080,729 issued May 18, 1937 to Palmer B. McConnell; No. 3,207,361issued Sept. 21, 1965 to Nicholas Marcalus; No. 3,679,094 issued July25, 1972 to Walter D. Nissen et al.; and No. 3,679,095 issued July 25,1972 to Walter D. Nissen et al.

In view of the referenced prior art patents, it is be lieved that theyneither teach nor disclose a compact dispensing package which providesgood initial dispensing, good stability against bundle shifting duringshipping and other handling, and access through the top of thedispensing package to all of the sheets, in

turn, packaged therewithin as provided by the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The nature and substance of the presentinvention will be more readily appreciated after giving consideration toits major aims and purposes. The principal objects of the invention arerecited in the ensuing paragraphs in order to provide a betterappreciation of its important aspects prior to describing the details ofa preferred embodiment in later portions of this description.

A major object of the present invention is providing a compactdispensing package for sheet materials which substantially precludesshifting of the sheet material within the package during shipping andother handling, and which provides access through a dispensing openingin the top of the package so that each of the sheets within the packagecan be grasped and withdrawn by extending a thumb and forefinger throughthe opening.

Another major object of the present invention is providing a compactdispensing package for sheet material as described in the precedingparagraph wherein the sheet material is virtually limp.

Still another major object of the present invention is providing acompact dispensing package as described in the two preceding paragraphswhich package comprises a substantially cubical-shape carton, a bundleof substantially square sheets of material which sheets are U-folded andinterleaved to form the bundle of tissues, an inverted Y-shape supportmember within the carton for supporting the bundle of tissues and fordividing the carton into a triangular cross-section tubular voiddisposed below the arms of the Y-shape support member and a bundleaccommodating space disposed thereabove, the bundle being U-folded onitself and draped substantially symmetrically on the support member, thecomponents of the package being configured 'so that the bundlesubstantially fills the bundle accommodating space.

These and other objects are achieved by providing a compact dispensingpackage for sheet material comprising a top-dispensing form-sustainingcarton, a Y- shape support member, and a bundle of sheets of flexiblematerial. The support member is inverted in the carton and the bundle ofsheets is U-folded and draped over the inverted Y-shape support member.The carton, support member, sheets, and bundle are so configured thatthe distal ends of the U-shape bundle are flared outwardly by virtue ofresting on upwardly facing surfaces of the arms of the inverted Y-shapesupport member, and the bundle substantially fills the space within thecarton above the inverted Y-shape support member whereby the bundle issubstantially precluded from shifting during shipping or other handling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS While the specification concludes withclaims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subjectmatter regarded as forming the present invention, it is believed theinvention will be better understood from the following description takenin connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, partially cut-away view of a compact dispensingpackage embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a bundle of sheets prior to the bundle beingU-folded and inserted into a carton to form the package shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the bundle of tissues shown in FIG. 2taken along line 3-3 thereof.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a bundle support member made of cartonboardprior to folding it into the inverted Y-shape shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an alternate configuration of a bundle ofsheets having a different geometry of folds on the top of the bundle toprovide a grasping portion of the top sheet which is accessible throughthe dispensing opening in the top of a carton as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, transverse cross-sectional view of the bundle oftissues shown in FIG. 5 taken along line 66 thereof.

FIG. 7 is a reduced scale, transverse, cross-sectional view of stillanother alternate bundle configuration showing yet another geometry offolds on the top of the bundle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention which is a compact dispensing package 20 comprising carton 21,a panel 22 underlying the top wall of carton 21, an overwrap 23, aninverted Y shape support member 24, and a U-folded bundle 25 of sheets26 of sheet material such as substantially limp facial tissues.

Carton 21, FIG. 1, of the preferred embodiment, package 20, of thepresent invention is formed from a carton board blank into aform-sustaining somewhat cubical-shape having a front wall 30, a backwall 31, side walls (not shown in FIG. 1) 32, 33, top wall 34, bottomwall 35, and tab 36.

The top wall 34 of carton 21 is provided with elongate aperture 37centrally disposed therein which has its major axis lying in animaginary medial plane not shown in the figures which bisects the topback edge 38. the top front edge 39, the bottom front edge 40, and thebottom back edge 41 of carton 21. Although aperture 37 is shown in FIG.1 to be eliptical, it is believed that the eliptical shape is notcritical to the present invention.

Tab 36, FIG. 1, is integrally hinged to top wall 34 along the back edgeof top wall 34. A portion of tab 36 is adhesively secured to theinwardly facing surface of back wall 31.

The side walls 32, 33 of carton 21 are not shown in FIG. 1 in order topromote a clear understanding of the essential elements of package 20.However, side walls 32, 33 are formed from flaps which are integrallyhinged to the other walls of the carton blank so that they overlap whenfolded inwardly and can be adhesively secured together to completepackage 20 after carton 21 is filled.

Bundle 25, FIGS. 2 and 3, of the preferred embodiment of package 20comprises a multiplicity of sheets 26 of sheet material such as facialtissue. As shown in FIG. 3, each sheet is U-folded and interleaved withadjacent sheets 26 in bundle 25. However, portions of the top sheet andthe next lower sheet are folded to provide a grasping portion 45 havingan edge 46 extending adjacent the longitudinal center-line of the bundle25. As

shown in FIG. 3, the longitudinally extending closed edge of top sheet47 is edge 46. When thus disposed, one quarter fold 45 of the top foldof top sheet 47 overlies an adjacent quarter fold, the quarter foldseach being one quarter as wide as bundle 25. An alternative fold, notdepicted in the figures, similar to the fold shown in FIG. 3, may beformed by folding the top fold (top half) of top sheet 47 to positionits free edge 48 so that it extends along the longitudinal center lineof bundle 25 and overlies the next adjacent quarter of the top fold ofthe top sheet. Whereas the alternate fold provides an adequate graspingportion having sufficient strength to not tear upon initiatingdispensing from package 20, for some sheet materials, the fold shown inFIG. 3 provides a grasping portion having substantially more strengthand bulk with which to initiate dispensing from package 20.

Bundle 25 is shown, FIG. 3, and described as comprising U-folded,interleaved sheets which promote pop-up dispensing. However, neitherpopup dispensing nor such interfolding are believed to be critical tothe present invention.

Underlying panel 22 is formed from transparent material such asflexible, transparent polyethylene film and is secured within carton 21juxtaposed the inwardly facing surface of top wall 34. Panel 22 is largeenough to extend beyond the perimeter of aperture 37. Panel 22 isprovided with an elongate opening such as an ellipsoidal shape openinghaving its major axis disposed in the imaginary medial plane of carton21 which was described hereinbefore.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invent on, package 20 of FIG.1, the dispensing opening 50 in the underlying panel 22 is substantiallysmaller than aperture 37 in top wall 34. Thus, panel 22 provides atransparent window in top wall 34 which covers a substantial portion oftop wall 34 which substantially precludes dust and other foregin matterfrom entering the package. Although the dimensions of aperture 37 anddispensing opening 50 are not believed to be critical to the presentinvention, the major axis and the radii of the ends of dispensingopening 50 must be great enough to enable pop-up dispensing if sheets 26are interleaved and the minor axis of dispensing opening 50 must besmall enough to sufficiently retard withdrawal of sheets 26 therethroughin order to substantially preclude multiple dispensing of interleavedsheet material and to partially preclude dust and other foreign matterfrom entering the package through dispensing opening 50. For instance,in a representative package 20 containing about two-ply tissues whichare about 9 6/10 inches by about 8 25/100 inches which are U- folded andinterleaved and which carton has height, width and depth dimensions ofapproximately 5 /2, 4% inches, and 4% inches respectively, thedispensing aperture 37 has a major axis of about 3% inches and a minoraxis of about 2% inches, and the dispensing opening 50 has a major axisof about 3% inches, a minor axis of about 5% inches and end radii ofabout 3/16 inches. In the event that underlying panel 22 is notincorporated in the package, the aperture 37 would be sized anddisposedl in top wall 34 substantially identically to dispensing opening50 described above and aperture 37 would indped be a dispensing apertureor opening.

Overwrap 23, FIG. 51 is a transparent material such as polyethylene orpolypropylene plastic film which covers top wall 34 and front wall ofthe preferred embodiment package 20 and may be imprinted withadvertising, opening instructions, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, theoverwrap extends under the front portion of the bottom wall of carton 21and extends between tab 36 and back wall 31 near the top back edge 38 ofcarton 21 and is secured to the carton at those locations. Panel 23 isfurther provided with lines of weakening such as spaced perforationswhich, when overwrap 23 is secured to carton 21, extend along edges 38and whereby the removal of the overwrap can be effected by tearing theoverwrap along the lines of weakening. An overwrap of this type isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,424,367 issued to John D. Desmond on Jan.28, 1969. Such an overwrap substantially precludes the entry of dust andother foreign material into the package prior to the removal of overwrap23 while still enabling, in conjunction with transparent panel 22, acustomer to view a substantial portion of the contents of package 20prior to opening it. Whereas overwrap 23 of the preferred embodimentpackage 20 may be overprinted with advertising copy and the like, thecarton is finished with more aesthetically pleasing designs. In thismanner, the customer may receive the benefit of the advertising copyand/or opening instructions printed on the overwrap while, once theoverwrap has been removed, the opened package has a more aestheticallypleasing appearance unincumbered by advertising copy, instructions, andthe like.

Support member 24, is shown in FIG. 1 within carton 21 to have aninverted Y-shape configuration which divides carton 21 into a triangularcross-section tubular void 42 disposed below the support member and abundle accommodating space disposed above the support member. FIG. 4 isa plan view of a rectangular cartonboard blank 44 from which supportmember 24 may be formed. Blank 44 is provided with at least one medialfold line 60, and two intermediate fold lines 61, 62. The fold linesdivide blank 44 into four rectangular areas which are hereby designatedarms 63, 64 and stem portions 65, 66. When the blank is folded to formsupport member 24 having the inverted Y-shape configuration shown inFIG. 1, it is folded in such a manner that it has substantially noresidual resilience so that it will not pinch the bundle 25 of sheets 26between the uppermost edge (the horizontally extending edge formed byfolding on fold line of support member 24 and top wall 34 of carton 21.Otherwise, if the support member 24 had substantial resilience actingupwardly on bundle 25, dispensing, particularly initial dispensing,would be difficult and perhaps result in tearing one or more sheets 26.Furthermore, if a plurality of closely spaced medial fold lines areprovided, the positioning of each blank with respect to folding devicesbecomes less critical.

The included angle 43, FIG. 1, between arms 63, 64 of support member 24is a function of the lengths L, FIG. 4, of arms 63, 64 with respect tothe front-to-back dimension D of bottom wall 35 of carton 21. Although aprecise included angle 43 has not been determined to be critical to thepresent invention, the optimum range is believed to be from about toabout For smaller included angles, the tubular void 42 in the cartonbecomes undesirably large with respect to the total volume of carton 21and, for larger included angles, a support member 22 having only nominalstrength tends to bend and/or collapse which permits bundle 25 to shiftsomewhat during shipping or handling and causes the dispensing of thelower sheets in bundle 25 to be abnormally difficult.

It has been found convenient to form the combination of the bundle 25 oftissues 26 and support 24 into the U-folded configuration shown in FIG.1 by pressing the combination into a U-shape trough. Then, the U- foldedcombination is inserted into carton 21 through a horn or a funnelextending into a side of carton 21 so that the longitudinal centerlineof bundle 25 lies in the imaginary medial plane of carton 21 describedhereinbefore and fold lines 60, 61, 62 of support member 24 aresubstantially perpendicular to the medial plane. However, it is notbelieved that this particular method of forming the bundle and supportmember into the U- shape configuration of FIG. 1 or of inserting thecombination into carton 21 is critical to the present invention.

When package 20 is assembled with bundle 25 and support 24 disposed asindicated in FIG. 1, some bunching or compression of the distal portionsof bundle 25 occurs in the portions of the lower interior corners ofcarton 21 disposed above arms 63, 64 of support member 24. Therefore,the package components are configured so that: the bundle is notcompressed between the stem of the support member and the top wall ofthe carton; or compressed between the stem and the front and back wallsof the carton; and so that the end edges 70, 71 of top sheet 47 aredisposed above bottom wall 35 a distance equal to or greater than theheight of juncture 72 (between the arms 63, 64 of Y- shape supportmember 24) above bottom wall 35. In this manner, the end portions of topsheet 47 are substantially precluded from being pressed against thefront wall 30 and the back wall 31 of carton 21 by the flared, distalportions of the U-shape bundle 25 and, in this manner, the top sheet 47is prevented from being restrained within carton 21 so tightly that itwould be difficult to withdraw without its being torn or otherwisedamaged.

A representative example of the preferred embodiment of compactdispensing package 20 comprises a carton 21 having a height, width anddepth of 5% inches, 4% inches, and 4% inches respectively, a bundle 25comprising about two-ply sheets of facial tissue which bundle has anuncompressed height of approximately 100% inches, the sheets each beingapproximately 9 6/10 inches long by about 8 25/100 inches wide which areU-folded about their longitudinal center line and which are interleavedwith each other to promote pop-up dispensing. In this example, bundlesupport member 24 has an overall or composite length L, FIG. 4, of 9%inches, a width of about 4% inches, and is provided with fold lines 60,61 and 62 to divide it into arms having lengths L' of about 2% inchesand stem portions 65, 66 having lengths L" of about 2% inches each. Theexample further includes a polyethylene panel 22, a polypropyleneoverwrap 23, and a dispensing opening 50 and an aperture 37 having thedimensions stated hereinbefore. In this representative example of thepresent invention, the carton, the sup port member, the sheets, and thebundle are so configured that the bundle substantially fills the bundleaccommodating space in the carton above the Y-shape support memberwithout binding the sheets of the bundle, and which bundle of sheets issupported so that each sheet can be grasped and withdrawn, in turn, by

extending a thumb and forefinger through a dispensing opening oraperture in the top wall of the carton in the event sheets 26 and notinterfolded to provide pop-up dispensing.

An alternate fold configuration of top sheet 47 of bundle 25' is shownin FIGS. and 6 to include a first quarter fold 80, a one-half fold 81and a second quarter fold 82 intermediate folds 80., 81 wherein thefirst quarter fold underlies the second quarter fold and is contiguoustherewith, and the second quarter fold underlies the one-half fold. Thealternative fold configuration is further defined as having an edge ofeach of the first and second quarter folds and an edge of the one-halffold extending along one edge of bundle so that the longitudinallyextending closed edge 83 of top sheet 47 is disposed along the medialcenterline of the bundle 25'. Such a fold tends to not unfold whenunrestrained whereas, if sheets 26 have nominal resilience, other foldstend to unfold unless top sheet 47 is sharply creased or otherwiserestrained from unfolding. Another version of the alternate fold (FIG.6) of top sheet 47 is shown in FIG. 7 wherein identical elements orfeatures are identically designated as in the other figures, andfunctionally similar articles or features are identified with primedidentical designators. The fold depicted in FIG. 7 has the top half oftop sheet 47 folded into the geometry shown so that its free edge 84(rather than its closed edge 83) extends along the medial centerline ofthe bundle. Whereas the alternate fold configuration shown in H6. 6provides a six-ply grasping portion when sheets 26 are each two ply, theversion of the alternate fold shown in FIG. 7 provides only a twoplygrasping portion.

To open package 20, FIG. 1, the overwrap 23 is torn along thehereinbefore described lines of weakening disposed adjacent corners 38and of carton 21. To initiate dispensing of the sheet material fromwithin carton 21, the grasping portion of top sheet 47 is graspedbetweed ones thumb and forefinger after extending them throughdispensing opening and then pulling on the grasping portion. If thesheet 26 are interfolded to promote pop-up dispensing, withdrawal ofeach sheet 26 will draw a substantial portion of the next succeedingsheet through dispensing opening 50 so that it extends upwardlytherefrom. In the event that subsequent pop-up dispensing does notoccur, support member 24 maintains the remainder of bundle 25 subjacenttop wall 34 so that one can reinitiate dispensing by again extending thethumb and forefinger through dispensing opening 50. Were support member24 not present, reinitiation of pop-up dispensing would be substantiallymore difficult because the remainder of the bundle would slump towardsthe bottom of the carton. Also, if sheets 26 are not interleaved toprovide pop-up dispensing, each sheet of the bundle is withdrawn byextending a thumb and forefinger through dispensing opening 50 and thepresence of support member 24 insures that each sheet of the bundle iswithin such grasping distance through dispensing opening 50.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in theart that various changes and modifications can be made without departingform the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended to coverin the appended claims all such changes and modifications that arewithin the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A compact dispensing package for sheet material comprising atop-dispensing form-sustaining carton, a Y-shape support membercomprising two arms and a stem joined together at a juncture, and abundle of sheets of flexible material, said support member beinginverted in the carton so that it divides said carton into ahorizontally extending triangular cross-section tubular space bounded bythe arms of said support member and the bottom wall of said carton, anda bundle accommodating space above the arms of said support member, saidbundle of sheets being U-folded and draped substantially symmetricallyover said inverted Y-shape support member, said carton, said supportmember, said sheets, and said bundle being so configured that thedownwardly extending distal ends of the U-shpae bundle flare outwardlyby virtue of resting on upwardly facing surfaces of the arms of theinverted Y shape support member so that the flared ends of the bundlesubstantially fill the portions of the lower interior corners of thecarton disposed above the arms of said support member and said bundlesubstantially fills said bundle accommodating space withoutsubstantially compressing or restraining said bundle, and said carton,said stem, said sheets and said bundle being so configured with respectto each other that the ends of the uppermost sheet of said bundle arespaced from said bottom wall a distance at least equal to the elevationof said juncture above said bottom wall whereby the bundle issubstantially precluded from shifting during shipping or other handlingwithout substantially impairing the dispensability of said sheets, saidsheets being longitudinally U-folded and interleaved to promote pop-updispensing, said uppermost sheet comprising a top fold and a bottomfold, said top fold being longitudinally folded into a firstquarter-fold, a one-half fold, and a second quarter-fold disposedintermediate said first quarter-fold and said one-half fold, said firstquarter-fold underlying said second quarter-fold and being contiguoustherewith, and said second quarterfold underlying half of said one-halffold, said quarterfolds and said one-half fold each having an edgeextending along an edge of said bundle whereby the distal edge of saidone-half fold extends along the longitudinal centerline of said bundle.

2. A compact dispensing package for sheet material comprising atop-dispensing form-sustaining carton, a Y-shape support membercomprising two arms joined to a stem at a juncture, and a bundle ofsheets of fiexible material, said form-substaining carton comprising twoside walls, a front wall, a back wall, a top wall and a bottom wall,said top wall having an aperture therein, said side walls being spaced adistance W inches apart, said front wall being spaced a distance of Dinches from said back wall, said top wall being spaced a distance Hinches from said bottom wall, said carton further comprising a firstlower interior corner formed at the juncture of said front wall withsaid bottom wall and a second lower interior corner formed at thejuncture of said back wall with said bottom wall, said support memberbeing disposed within said carton with the distal end of one of said twoarms being disposed in said first interior corner and the distal end ofthe other of said two arms being disposed in said second interiorcorner, said stem extending substantially vertically so that is distalend is spaced about a distance T inches below said top wall, saidsupport member dividing the interior of said carton into a horizontallyextending triangular crosssection tubular space bounded by the arms ofsaid support member and the bottom wall of said carton, and a bundleaccommodating space above the arms of said support member, said supportmembers having a composite length up-and-over it of about L inches, saidbundle of sheets having an uncompressed thickness of about T inches, Tinches being about one-half D inches, each of said sheets having alength substantially equal to the composite length L of said supportmember and a width of about W inches, said U-shape folded bundle beingdraped substantially symmetrically over said supor restraining saidbundle.

1. A compact dispensing package for sheet material comprising atop-dispensing form-sustaining carton, a Y-shape support membercomprising two arms and a stem joined together at a juncture, and abundle of sheets of flexible material, said support member beinginverted in the carton so that it divides said carton into ahorizontally extending triangular cross-section tubular space bounded bythe arms of said support member and the bottom wall of said carton, anda bundle accommodating space above the arms of said support member, saidbundle of sheets being U-folded and draped substantially symmetricallyover said inverted Y-shape support member, said carton, said supportmember, said sheets, and said bundle being so configured that thedownwardly extending distal ends of the U-shpae bundle flare outwardlyby virtue of resting on upwardly facing surfaces of the arms of theinverted Y-shape support member so that the flared ends of the bundlesubstantially fill the portions of the lower interior corners of thecarton disposed above the arms of said support member and said bundlesubstantially fills said bundle accommodating space withoutsubstantially compressing or restraining said bundle, and said caRton,said stem, said sheets and said bundle being so configured with respectto each other that the ends of the uppermost sheet of said bundle arespaced from said bottom wall a distance at least equal to the elevationof said juncture above said bottom wall whereby the bundle issubstantially precluded from shifting during shipping or other handlingwithout substantially impairing the dispensability of said sheets, saidsheets being longitudinally U-folded and interleaved to promote pop-updispensing, said uppermost sheet comprising a top fold and a bottomfold, said top fold being longitudinally folded into a firstquarter-fold, a one-half fold, and a second quarter-fold disposedintermediate said first quarter-fold and said one-half fold, said firstquarter-fold underlying said second quarter-fold and being contiguoustherewith, and said second quarter-fold underlying half of said one-halffold, said quarter-folds and said one-half fold each having an edgeextending along an edge of said bundle whereby the distal edge of saidone-half fold extends along the longitudinal centerline of said bundle.2. A compact dispensing package for sheet material comprising atop-dispensing form-sustaining carton, a Y-shape support membercomprising two arms joined to a stem at a juncture, and a bundle ofsheets of flexible material, said form-substaining carton comprising twoside walls, a front wall, a back wall, a top wall and a bottom wall,said top wall having an aperture therein, said side walls being spaced adistance W inches apart, said front wall being spaced a distance of Dinches from said back wall, said top wall being spaced a distance Hinches from said bottom wall, said carton further comprising a firstlower interior corner formed at the juncture of said front wall withsaid bottom wall and a second lower interior corner formed at thejuncture of said back wall with said bottom wall, said support memberbeing disposed within said carton with the distal end of one of said twoarms being disposed in said first interior corner and the distal end ofthe other of said two arms being disposed in said second interiorcorner, said stem extending substantially vertically so that is distalend is spaced about a distance T inches below said top wall, saidsupport member dividing the interior of said carton into a horizontallyextending triangular cross-section tubular space bounded by the arms ofsaid support member and the bottom wall of said carton, and a bundleaccommodating space above the arms of said support member, said supportmembers having a composite length up-and-over it of about L inches, saidbundle of sheets having an uncompressed thickness of about T inches, Tinches being about one-half D inches, each of said sheets having alength substantially equal to the composite length L of said supportmember and a width of about W inches, said U-shape folded bundle beingdraped substantially symmetrically over said support member so that thelowermost surface of the most interior sheet of said U-shape bundle iscontiguous with the upwardly facing surfaces of said support member, andsaid carton, said support member and said sheets being so configuredwith respect to each other that the ends of the uppermost sheet of saidbundle are spaced from said bottom wall a distance at least equal to theelevation of said juncture above said bottom wall, whereby said bundlesubstantially fills said bundle accommodating space withoutsubstantially compressing or restraining said bundle.